On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2226 Not Human Blood

Yan Ruyu and Huo Changhe returned to the main hall, where a maid quickly served them warm food, including a few light side dishes and a bowl of white porridge.

Yan Ruyu was indeed hungry, so she picked up her chopsticks and ate slowly. Huo Changhe sat beside her, occasionally putting food on her plate, his eyes filled with undisguised heartache.

"Go and rest after you finish eating," Huo Changhe said, watching her finish the last bite of porridge. His tone was firm and unwavering. "You've been working so hard for so long. Even someone made of iron couldn't take it."

"I'll keep an eye on the rest."

Yan Ruyu wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Huo Changhe's firm gaze.

She knew he genuinely cared for her and was truly exhausted, so she nodded: "Okay, I'll go rest for a while. Call me immediately if anything happens."

Back in her room, Yan Ruyu quickly washed up and lay down on the bed.

With a thought, I entered the space.

Inside the testing room, the equipment was ready. She placed the blood-stained cloth on the testing table and started the testing procedure.

The space was quiet, with only the faint sounds of the instruments running.

Yan Ruyu leaned back in her chair, overwhelmed by the fatigue of the past few days. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and she fell asleep without realizing it.

She didn't know how much time had passed when a crisp "beep beep" sound woke her up from her sleep.

Yan Ruyu suddenly opened her eyes and quickly walked to the testing table, where the test results were already displayed on the screen.

She looked closely, her brows furrowing instantly, her eyes filled with surprise.

The test results showed that the dark red stains on the fabric were not human blood at all, but a rare plant sap mixed with some kind of mineral powder. The color was extremely similar to bloodstains, and it was impossible to distinguish them without careful examination.

Yan Ruyu put away the test report and exited the space. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Huo Changhe sitting on the chair by the bed, looking down at the topographic map in his hand, his brows slightly furrowed and his expression focused.

Sunlight shone on his profile, outlining his strong features.

"Awake?" Huo Changhe noticed her movement, immediately put down the topographic map, and reached out to feel her forehead. "Do you feel unwell? Why didn't you sleep a little longer?"

"I'm fine." Yan Ruyu sat up and handed him the test results, her tone grave. "The test results are in. The blood on that piece of fabric isn't human blood."

"Not human blood?" Huo Changhe took the report, glanced at it quickly, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then he fell into deep thought.

He recalled the scene in the cave, the traces in the stone chamber, the blurry footprints, and the fake bloodstain. All these signs connected together, giving him a hunch.

"Could it be that the man in black left it on purpose to mislead us?"

“Very likely.” Yan Ruyu nodded. “He acted so cautiously that he must have prepared an escape route in advance. He left fake bloodstains so that we would think he was injured and had escaped, thus lowering our guard.”

Huo Changhe's face darkened, and his tone was tinged with anger: "What a cunning mind! It seems we underestimated him."

"No, I have to interrogate Manager Zhou again; perhaps I can get more clues about the man in black from him."

As he was about to get up, Sun Qing's hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate.

Accompanied by his slightly panicked cries, "Your Highness! Your Highness! Something terrible has happened! Manager Zhou... he's dead!"

Huo Changhe and Yan Ruyu were startled. They exchanged a glance and immediately got up and walked toward the side courtyard where Manager Zhou was being held.

The atmosphere in the side courtyard was particularly oppressive, with several guards standing at the entrance, their expressions solemn.

Wu Liang stood in the center of the room, looking extremely annoyed. When he saw Huo Changhe and Yan Ruyu enter, he quickly stepped forward to report.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, I just came to check and found that Manager Zhou is lifeless and dead."

Yan Ruyu walked quickly to the bedside. Manager Zhou was lying on the ground with his eyes wide open, his face bluish-purple, and a trace of black blood still remaining at the corner of his mouth. He had obviously died from poisoning.

She knelt down, placed her fingertips on Manager Zhou's pulse, and withdrew her hand after a moment, her face darkening.

Sun Qing, his face full of self-reproach, lowered his head and said, "Your Highness, Your Highness, I am guilty!"

"We thoroughly examined Manager Zhou's body and found no poison or fangs. How could he... how could he have died from poisoning?"

He punched his thigh, filled with remorse: "It's all my fault, I didn't keep a close eye on him!"

"It's not your fault." Yan Ruyu spoke slowly, her tone calm but with a hint of coldness. "The poison in his body wasn't ingested today; it had been there for a while."

Huo Changhe frowned: "They were poisoned a long time ago?"

“That’s right.” Yan Ruyu nodded and pointed to Manager Zhou’s corpse, saying, “This kind of poison is extremely latent. It doesn’t usually take effect and requires regular antidote to suppress it.”

If captured and unable to take the antidote on time, the poison will take effect, leading to immediate death.

It seems the person behind this had anticipated this outcome, poisoning Manager Zhou to prevent him from revealing the secret.

"What a vicious method!" Huo Changhe was furious and kicked the stone table next to him. The stone table shook and made a dull sound.

"They've been on guard from the very beginning. If Manager Zhou is captured and killed, we can cut off all leads!"

Yan Ruyu slowly exhaled, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, her eyes clear: "Things have come to this point, anger will not help."

The most urgent task is to keep the news of Manager Zhou's death a secret and prevent the person behind it from finding out.

She looked at Huo Changhe, her tone carrying a hint of certainty: "Now is the time for our stand-ins to come into play."

As long as the double can stabilize the situation and lure out the man in black, we still have a chance to find out the truth.

Huo Changhe took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He nodded. Given the current situation, their only hope now lay with the disguised guard.

"Alright, I'll give the order immediately. Everyone must keep this a secret and not divulge a single word."

He turned to Sun Qing and said, "Sun Qing, take some men and dispose of Manager Zhou's body cleanly, leaving no trace."

In addition, strengthen the defenses of the Prince's residence and closely monitor the movements at the fresh produce shop. Report any news immediately.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Yan Ruyu focused her gaze, suppressing all her anger beneath a calm exterior.

This tough battle was even more brutal than imagined.

If it weren't for her having modern medicine, I'm afraid none of those patients would have survived.

Including the First Madam and Madam Cao, they had long since passed away.

So many lives lost, yet they haven't even seen a glimpse of their enemy.

It's really hateful!

Yan Ruyu closed her eyes slightly, a thought forming in her mind.

We must fight back.

We must not let ourselves be led by the nose.